UK Parliamentary Rugby League Group welcomes RLWC2013 nations & wishes all 14 teams best of luck
The UK’s Parliamentary Rugby League Group has extended a welcome to all visiting nations taking part in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup and wished all teams the best of luck for the tournament.
The Parliamentary Group is celebrating its 25th Anniversary over 2013/14 and comprises circa 70 Members from both Houses of Parliament as well as club, individual and organisational bodies as Associate Members. The Group has taken close interest in the tournament and recently held a reception in the Palace of Westminster to showcase what has been hailed as the most successful World Cup before a ball has even been kicked.
In addition, only three days after the opening ceremony in Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium this Saturday October 26, the Group will hear from the Rugby League International Federation Chairman, NZRL Chairman Scott Carter to hear about the development of the game internationally.
The Group’s Chairman is Leeds North West MP Greg Mulholland who said “the Rugby League World Cup 2013 is the first major international tournament to take place in the UK since London 2012 and the UK Parliamentary Rugby League Group is proud to have supported the build-up to the tournament and is now looking forward to the first game.
“On behalf of the Parliamentary Rugby League Group, I also wish to offer a very warm welcoming to all visiting nations as well as wishing all fourteen teams the best of luck. We hope that some may be able to do us the honour of visiting the Houses of Parliament for us to show them round.”
Mulholland has also tabled a Motion in Parliament for colleagues to support welcoming the teams and wishing them well on the road to the final at Old Trafford on November 30.
The full text of the Motion reads:
England & Wales Rugby League World Cup 2013
That this House welcomes to the UK the national teams of Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, France, Ireland, Italy, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, and USA for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup; hopes for victories for England, Scotland and Wales over whichever opposition they play over the course of the tournament; congratulates all those involved in RLWC2013 on the build-up to what will be the biggest and best rugby league international event to date; is grateful to all the volunteers in Team 13 for their involvement; notes the record number of crowds achieved even before the tournament kicks-off; is looking forward to a fantastic spectacle of international sport; will be another major multination sporting event for which Britain can be proud.